


Eagle (독수리)

by via_ostiense



Series: Tennis no Ojisama 45 [5]
Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-08-18
Updated: 2004-08-18
Packaged: 2017-10-17 01:01:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/171203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/via_ostiense/pseuds/via_ostiense
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Momo isn’t a regular anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eagle (독수리)

Momo stood shocked at the edge of the courts. One game to captain Tezuka, then another to upperclassman Inui. No. Two losses – two losses in the ranking matches. He was out of the regulars for at least the next month.  _No_ , he thought.  _This is unfair! My block was the hardest, it’s not fair!_  None of the blocks were easy, but none of the other blocks had Captain Tezuka in them. Or Inui, Inui, who had been taking the entire team’s data while training them. Momo walked to the locker room, grabbed his bag, and walked back out in a daze. Halfway between the courts and the main gate was a small grove of trees. He headed for it blankly, stomach and mind churning, and dropped his bag. And screamed.  
  
“No!” he yelled. “No!” Momo punctuated each cry of rage with a punch, slamming his fist into a tree. “No! It was unfair! I couldn’t – I can’t – no!” He yelled incoherently, screaming out all the confusion and anger, the shock and the frustration that were roiling inside him. He wasn’t a regular anymore, he wasn’t going to play in the upcoming matches, Viper was going to gloat during practice, and tennis, his tennis was over. At the thought, denial surged up in him again and he hit the tree again. Pain flared in his fist and he fell to his knees, cradling his hand against his chest. Twigs and rocks dug into his legs, but he ignored them. The pain in his body was nothing compared to the fact that he wasn’t going to compete anymore, wasn’t going to be playing tennis.  
  
“Hey, Momo-chan,” a casual voice called. Momo’s eyes flew open and he turned so quickly that he went sprawling in the dirt. Upperclassman Fuji. A regular. Oh, no. No, no. Momo didn’t want to be seen by anybody, he didn’t want to see anybody. Especially not a regular, and the only person that he wanted to see less at this moment than the prodigy was the Viper. Even the Viper was still a regular –  _he was better than you, he beat you, he’s still playing and you’re not. You were weak and he wasn’t_ , his mind whispered. He growled and pushed himself back up, turning away from the tennis player. He stared at the blood smears on the tree in front of him but didn’t really see them.  _Go away, just go away_ , he thought.  _I’ve just lost tennis, lost myself, can’t you just leave_? Momo shook, trying to contain his anguish and his anger at himself, at his weaknesses.  
  
“You know, you won’t play again if you break your fist,” Fuji said. His voice was light and even, and Momo imagined the upperclassman’s bland, smiling face. He wanted to punch the smile off his upperclassman’s face, the tennis prodigy who was still a regular, was still playing and would be for the rest of the season.  
  
“Fuck off,” Momo growled. His hand ached, he was getting blood all over his undershirt, and he wasn’t a regular anymore. He heard footsteps and thought that maybe the other boy had taken the hint. A pair of black pants walked into his view and a finger reached down and tilted his chin up so that he had to see Fuji’s calm, smiling face. Apparently not.  
  
“You’ll soar again on the tennis court someday, Momo,” Fuji said. “Not tomorrow, not this month, but maybe next month or the one after. You’re not done with tennis yet.” He dropped his hand and finally walked away, leaving Momo slumped behind him.  
  
 _Someday_ , Momo thought sullenly.  _Yeah, someday_.


End file.
